Good morning, beer fans! Here’s your weekly wrap-up of craft beer news in Atlantic Canada…

• Picaroons‘ English Brown Ale, 104th Regiment (see our previous post on this beer here), is now available in bottles at various ANBL locations across New Brunswick. To celebrate, Picaroons will be having an official bottle launch next Wednesday, June 12th at the Fredericton Region Museum on Queen St. The museum will also have an exhibit of ten paintings highlighting the 104th Regiment of Foot’s trek in 1813. There will be samples of the beer available, as well as some snacks. For every bottle of 104th Regiment that is sold, Picaroons will be donating 25 cents to the museum. According to Dennis Goodwin, Marketing Director at Picaroons, the 104th Regiment is just the first in a series of New Brunswick commemorative beers that they have planned for the future.

• Speaking of Picaroons, tickets for their Brewer’s Bash this July are officially sold out. With only about half of the sixty breweries named so far, stay tuned for more information as it becomes available. Those who were able to purchase tickets should be in for a great time! Read more about this event in our previous post.

• For those of you who were itching to try some Shiretown Beer Blonde du Quai, but weren’t able to make it up to Charlo to purchase some bottles or buy it on tap, it looks like they’re expanding to some more ANBL stores. Keep checking the website; as of this week, there were bottles of this award-winning beer available at both the Bathurst and Fredericton York St. locations. Get it while you can!

• Big Spruce Brewing has released a new beer this week, their Regatta Red. It will be available in limited quantities at the brewery and some tap accounts. Details to follow shortly.

• Big Spruce will also be taking part in the Take-a-Bite Food Event in Sydney. It takes place Saturday from 11:30-2 at the Cruise Ship Pavillion.

• Moosehead Brewing is releasing a new beer to the area, Boundary Ale. It appears to be an all malt beer, with 2-row barley as the backbone, and six others for flavour and colour. The beer incorporates English (Fuggles and EKG) and American (Cascade and Chinook) hops for bittering and aroma. At 39 IBU and 5.3% ABV, this is a definite departure from their regular offerings.

• [Late edit] Brewmaster Greg Nash‘s newest beer at the Rockbottom Brewpub is Rookie. The basis for the beer is an English Mild (3.3% ABV), however it is hopped up with a ton (approximately) of aromatic American Citra and Simcoe hops. Sounds like a great combo for those Saturday afternoon sessions.

Stay dry and drink good beer this weekend!

• This afternoon, Picaroons will be having a mini-launch party for their “other” summer beer, Melonhead. Held at the Brewtique in downtown Fredericton, Melonhead will, of course, be available on tap. As well, several cats (only those 2.7 years or older) will be there taking part in the festivities, including the winner of the Melonhead label contest. Real Food Connections will be providing some “melon-esque” food, and some members of the Chickadee Cat Club will be attending to promote their cat show on the weekend. The fun starts at 2pm.

• Garrison Brewing is releasing their Tilford’s Nit Wit Belgian Witbier today, including tapping a firkin at the brewery at 4pm. It will be available at the NSLC, as well as the ANBL. The beer originally began as the winner of the 2010 Home Brew-Off Challenge, brewed by Scott Tilford, but has been so popular that it has been back every year since. Hopefully some of the other winners can make an appearance again too! And a reminder to homebrewers, the 2014 Brew-Off style has been announced: Weizen/Weissbier (BJCP style 15A).

• The owners of Red Rover Brewing Co. have recently begun their campaign to help raise money for their business. Geared to supporters that live in the Fredericton area, a $30 donation entitles you to a t-shirt customized to the area of Fredericton that you live in (i.e. North Side vs. South Side). Check out details and pictures of the shirt here. As well, “Red Roverlutionaries” will receive a membership cider mat made from local hardwood, be entered into random prize draws, and will be notified of upcoming exclusive events put on by the cidery.

• Brewmaster Nash at the Hart & Thistle has released his latest concoction, the High Voltage Double IPA. This joins his 1913 Stock Ale, also on tap. It looks like a beautiful weekend to spend on a patio on the water in Halifax.

• Celebrating their recent Canadian Brewing Awards medal, Acadie-Broue will be tapping a keg of Tintramarre Saison at the Laundromat Expresso Bar this Sunday at 4pm. Come on down to taste this excellent beer!

• Thursday, June 6, there will be a Beerthief tasting of Propeller beers at the Howley Estates NLC in St. John’s. Propeller beers were part of a recent Beerthief order, and so Mike and Tom will be giving a guided tour of these beers. Congratulations to Mike for completing his Certified Cicerone® program, not an easy task!

• According to the Coastguard newspaper, the brewhouse for Shelburne’s Boxing Rock brewery arrived last week. We look forward to their opening this summer, and will have some details on the setup soon!

• A head’s up for good beer fans in NB: Unibroue’s Grand Reserve 17 is now available in several ANBLs in Moncton and Fredericton. While not brewed in the Atlantic Provinces, it is a great Belgian Dark Strong (aka Quadrupel), and these styles are few and far between in the area. This beer will keep (and improve) for years if stored properly (cool and dark).

• While not in the Atlantic Provinces, Montreal is a short plane ride away for many of us. This weekend’s Mondial de la Biere event is certainly worth that plane ticket! It is held in a large convention hall, and has free admission. You then purchase tokens to spend on exactly the beers you want to try. And there are over 500 beers to try, so you won’t get bored. It started Wednesday, and is on until Sunday.